“I thought that was pretty amazing. If the bear is in the trees, maybe he’s trying to save the trees!” joked Bruce Wilson.

Wilson and dozens of other people stopped by in a parking lot across the highway to safely watch the bear.

For hours, the baby bear looked and shifted around but would not come down.

“He was up higher but he worked his way down and was like, ‘I’m not moving,'” described Ashley Kyle, who stopped by with her two-year-old daughter.

“She’s never really seen a bear this close, iI mean, at the zoo, but never just in the city right across the highway,” added Kyle.

Police asked people to move back before noon Wednesday, asking everyone to give him plenty of space.

The NC Wildlife Commission’s policy is not to tranquillize or capture a bear unless human lives are at risk. They did not respond to the scene, but advised A&T and Greensboro Police officers to give the bear space and let him follow his instincts.

Elizabeth Raynor and her daughter Raynor watched the black bear move around, hoping he would eventually find his way down.

“We’ve never seen a bear in the wild. I don’t know if you’d call Highway 29 the wild! But it’s still kinda of neat to see him,” Raynor said.

Finally the bear came down out of the tree and scampered right back up another one.

About fifteen minutes later, the bear made a run for it, making his way up Hwy 29. Officers followed along the road, hoping he wouldn’t run into traffic.

Eventually the bear went under the Sullivan Street bridge and disappeared in the trees beyond.